LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Two more people in Los Angeles County have tested positive for the coronavirus, including one for whom no source of exposure can be found, possibly representing the county's first case of community transmission of the illness, health officials announced today.
According to Dr. Barbara Ferrer, head of the county Department of Public Health, one of the new cases is a person with a known travel history to Japan. But Ferrer said health officials cannot identify any known exposure to the illness for the second patient.
``Community transmission is when we cannot identify a known source of exposure,'' Ferrer said. ``... With all of our cases, we are doing extensive investigations and identifying all of their close contacts. With both of these cases, to date we have identified no significant public exposures, but both of our new cases do have exposures to people who are known. ... The two cases are now in isolation and all of their close contacts are or will be quarantined for up to 14 days from their last date of exposure.''
With the county now confirming its first possible case of ``community transmission,'' Ferrer said people who are pregnant, have underlying health conditions or are elderly should immediately begin ``social distancing practices.''
``This would include avoiding non-essential travel, avoiding public gatherings or places where large groups of people are congregating and avoiding event venues,'' Ferrer said.
She said those three groups of people are in danger of becoming more seriously ill if they contract the virus.
The two new patients, who are in isolation, bring the county's overall total to 16. The other cases are:
-- eight people in the travel group to Italy;
-- two contract employees who were conducting coronavirus medical screenings of arriving passengers at Los Angeles International Airport;
-- two relatives of a person who lives outside the county and was also confirmed with the virus; and
-- a person who attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Conference in Washington, D.C.; and
-- a traveler from the area of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. That person, the county's first patient, has since recovered.
In Long Beach, which has its own public health department separate from the county, a hospital official told the Long Beach Post a patient there has tested positive for the coronavirus in that city, although the case has not yet been confirmed by the city.
Dr. James Leo, chief medical officer for Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, told the paper the patient has been in isolation since being identified as a possible patient, and the person is ``being provided with the very best care.''
If confirmed the case would be the first in Long Beach.
Meanwhile, at Cal State Long Beach, university officials confirmed that 10 students are in self-quarantine after attending a ``large event in Washington, D.C., at which three people subsequently tested positive for COVID- 19.'' The college did not specify the event or confirm if they also attended the AIPAC conference attended by the Los Angeles County coronavirus patient and two other people who have since tested positive.
CSULB officials said the students are not showing any symptoms of the illness and the university is ``in ongoing communication with them and we are closely monitoring their health status.''
At Cal State Northridge, a campus official told the Daily News that 16 students who attended the AIPAC conference have also agreed to self- quarantine. Matt Baram, executive director of Hillel 818 at the school, told the paper none of the students are showing symptoms and the self-quarantine, which will continue until March 17, is out of an abundance of caution.
Ferrer noted that any travelers returning from Italy, South Korea, mainland China or Iran are still being asked ``to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days upon their return to the United States.''
She also said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising that people not go on any cruises.
There have been 22 deaths from coronavirus in the United States, while more than 3,800 people have died worldwide.